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Services for the Public, National Archives at Kansas City

Attention Researchers

We are committed to providing all researchers with outstanding customer service. Please help us better serve you by taking note of the following More...

Reference Service Information for Federal Bankruptcy Case Files

Please be aware that due to a major relocation of records in the Kansas City area, some Federal bankruptcy case files will be closed for research while the staff moves them. See a list of affected series More...

Historical Research

Online Catalog

The National Archives at Kansas City has more than 35,000 cubic feet of archival holdings, including textual documents, photographs, maps, and architectural drawings, dating from about 1821 to the 1980s. These archival holdings were created or received by the Federal courts and over 70 Federal agencies in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Federal law requires that agencies transfer permanently valuable, noncurrent records to NARA.

Among subjects of local interest are: frontier and territorial history; American Indians native to the Northern Great Plains; the development of natural resources; court cases involving fugitive slave Dred Scott, Birdman of Alcatraz Robert Stroud, automobile entrepreneur Henry Ford, and civil rights pioneer Oliver Brown, who challenged school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

The archival holdings are arranged by record group (abbreviated RG), a body of records from an agency or bureau, identified by an RG number. Selected finding aids, including a comprehensive guide to archival holdings, are available by mail and online. Research can be initiated in person, by telephone, mail, fax, or electronic mail. Individuals who wish to use original records on-site will facilitate their research by calling before visiting.

Before using archival holdings, every researcher must obtain a researcher identification card. An applicant must show identification that includes a photograph, such as a driver's license, passport, or school or business identification card, and complete a short form giving name, address, telephone number, and a brief description of the proposed research topic. A researcher ID card, valid for one year, is then issued. It must be presented during each research visit.

Microfilmed records

In addition to unique original records, the Kansas facility has extensive holdings of National Archives microfilm publications. These publications reproduce basic documentation for the study of history, economics, public administration, political science, law, ethnology, genealogy, and other subjects. Included are records relating to U.S. diplomacy, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and Reconstruction, Native American-Government relations, westward expansion, and World War II.

Bankruptcy Case Files

The Kansas City facility has bankruptcy and other case files from Federal, U.S. district and bankruptcy courts in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Find out how to access them.

Photocopying

For a fee, the staff will make or arrange for copies of documents, including certified copies for legal use, unless the physical condition of the documents does not allow reproduction.

Copies of microfilm can be made at self-service copiers or by other arrangement for a fee.